Nottinghamshire businesses from a wide range of sectors came together to hear from expert speakers and share best practice at the Digital Awareness Conference 2026 on 16th March.
Delivered by East Midlands Chamber, in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council, the event took place at Trent Vineyard in Nottingham.
A range of expert speakers and workshops aimed to empower Nottinghamshire based businesses with digital transformation strategies and insight into tools and technologies that support sustainable growth, while underlining the need for robust cyber resilience.
Speakers included Nottinghamshire County Council’s Ian Stoddart, who presented details of the Council’s Digital Connectivity Framework and Microsoft Local Public Services Lead Phil Grantham, who shared insight on harnessing AI for growth and the opportunities it presents for Government and business.
Nottingham Trent University’s Prof Daniel Vera gave a talk on AI technologies, their capabilities and limits, while Gwilym Williams, of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) spoke of DSIT’s work and the support it provides for business.
East Midlands Chamber Director of Policy and Insight Richard Blackmore opened the conference. Speaking afterwards he said: “To have delivered the Digital Awareness Conference in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council has been fantastic. The lightning-fast pace at which digital technology progresses means business needs to be ready for all it brings, have a strategy in place and, at the very least, be as informed and up-to-date as possible on the very latest developments. That’s what this conference, with its wide range of expert speakers and interactive workshops, set out to do and why it was so important.
“The scope of AI is immense, is transforming the way firms operate now and will in the future, while the need to be cyber-secure to protect your business is essential. The approach of one business will differ from another based on its needs, so the more insight a business can gain from industry experts, as well as hearing best practice from other firms on a similar journey, the better.
“The workshops and speakers at the conference covered areas specifically aimed at helping business growth, like looking at the latest emerging trends, what support can be tapped into, how to make marketing more accessible, how to be a data-driven organisation and how to put AI to use in the best way.”
Nottinghamshire County Council Group Manager for Growth, Infrastructure and Development Joelle Davies said: “We are trying to create an environment where people are not nervous about these things and want to attend many more events like this. Many small businesses are trying to do so much, and we are really keen to help them on that journey.
“I was really pleased to see how many businesses attended, that want to learn and to embrace digital awareness and AI.”
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Regional Cyber Lead Gwilym Williams gave a talk on the role of Government in supporting digital cyber security. Afterwards he said: “The UK cybersecurity sector is one of the growth sectors of the UK economy –it’s had double-digit growth over the last two, three and four years, with tens of thousands of people working in it.
“Generally speaking, it creates a billion pounds of revenue for the national economy and brings investment into the UK. But what does that look like then for the East Midlands?
“About 3% of the UK cybersecurity firms are based in the region, and we have about the same percentage in terms of national cyber employment. The opportunity now is to think about how these cyber security businesses can support the wider regional economy.”
Microsoft Public Services Lead Phil Grantham gave a talk on opportunities presented by AI. He said: “Satya Nadella, the Chief Executive of Microsoft described the rise of generative AI as a profound and transformative moment in technology history, as significant as the PC was to the 80s, the web to the 90s, mobile in the 2000s and cloud computing in the 2010s.”
Speakers and workshop leads at the 2026 Nottinghamshire Digital Awareness Conference:
- Richard Blackmore – Director of Policy and Insight, East Midlands Chamber
- Cllr Bert Bingham – Cabinet Minister for Transport and the Environment, Nottinghamshire County Council
- Ian Stoddart – Digital Connectivity Manager, Nottinghamshire County Council
- Gwilym Williams – Regional Cyber Lead Midlands, Dept for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
- Phil Grantham – Local Public Services Lead, Microsoft
- Prof Daniel Vera – Professor of Industrial Digitalisation, Nottingham Trent University
- Mark Bates – Digital Trade Adviser, Dept of Business and Trade
- Martin Broadhurst – Director, Broadhurst Digital
- Adam Blackwell – Solutions Consultant, FluidOne
- Erin Hyland – DSCH Programme Manager, EDGE Digital Manufacturing
- Hannah Steggles – IT & Data Protection Lawyer, Howes Percival
- Paula Dumbill – Partner & Commercial Technology Specialist, Howes Percival
- Tim Rookes – CEO, Truly SMB
Details of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Digital Connectivity Framework can be found here.
